1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to the structure of and reinforcement for the shell of a refrigerator cabinet.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In constructing a refrigerator cabinet, it is highly desirable to minimize the weight of the cabinet shell to reduce manufacturing, transportation and additional associated costs, yet it is imperative that the cabinet be structurally sound in order to counteract loads exerted thereon without deforming. Mainly due to cost efficiencies and flexibility in workmanship, it has been commonplace to utilize sheet metal in the forming of most refrigerator cabinets on the market today. Since the sheet metal is thin and rather high loads tend to be concentrated on the shell, particularly by the opening and closing of a weighted down refrigerator door, a fair amount of effort has been applied in this art to provide reinforcement for such a refrigerator cabinet shell. Of course, an additional important concern is also the ease of assembly of the cabinet as a whole.
With this in mind, it has heretofore been proposed to form the sides and top of a refrigerator cabinet shell out of a single piece of bent sheet metal and then to attach thereto rear and bottom walls. An example of such a known arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 1 at 2 with the side walls 4 and 6 being integrally formed with top wall 8, while rear wall 10 and bottom wall 12 are attached thereto. The front edge portions of the side and top walls are in-turned to defined front face portions 16 of the cabinet and these front face portions 16 are additionally bent to form return flanges 20 (also see FIG. 2) which define a liner receiving cavity 22 that opens laterally inwardly of the shell 2.
With this arrangement, side reinforcing bars 24 and 25 can be slid between the front face portions 16 and the return flange 20 on either side of the cabinet for reinforcement purposes. A flexible liner 30 can then be positioned within the shell 2 by causing the liner 30 to bow inward in order that an outwardly projecting annular flange 32 of the liner 30 can be received within the liner receiving cavity 22. A similar freezer liner (not shown) can likewise be inserted. A mullion support bar assembly 34 is also positioned within a section of the liner receiving cavity 22 and threaded fasteners 36 are used to secure the side reinforcing bars 24 and 25, as well as the support bar assembly 34 and the liner 30, to the front face portions 16 of the shell 2. In addition to the attaching of a cross plate 40, a foam 42 is injected between the shell 2 and the liner 30 which forms an insulation barrier and also adds to the overall structural rigidity of the cabinet.
The major drawbacks of such a known arrangement is the difficulties associated with assembling the cabinet including the manner of insertion and the aligning of the various reinforcement members, as well as the associated design considerations of the liner itself to enable the same to adequately flex for insertion into the flange of the cabinet while not being damaged.
There has also been proposed in the art to provide a cabinet shell design which will directly receive a liner without the need to flex the liner into place. Such an arrangement is commonly referred to as "front loading" of the liner. FIG. 3 illustrates one typical known design of this type wherein liner 44 can be directly inserted into cabinet shell 46 with flange 48 of liner 44 simply abutting a laterally extending portion of the cabinet shell 46. Again the space between the liner 44 and the shell 46 is foamed with insulation. Such a cabinet design obviously enhances the assembly of the liner to the shell. Unfortunately, many of the advantageous features of prior designs are lost with such a front loading arrangement. These features include larger design tolerances, enhanced liner stability following installation and desirable aesthetic qualities to name a few.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art of refrigerators for a cabinet assembly having enhanced structural and simplified assembly characteristics, while also being cost effective and aesthetically pleasing.